Holstein Kiel

Ground: Holstein-Stadion

Visits: 1

Date: 25th July 2015

Match: Holstein Kiel - Mainz II 0-4 (3. Liga)

Attendance: 5 397

There was no match in Denmark for me, at least not at a new ground, on Saturday. Instead I looked at fixtures in Germany and was pleased to find out Holstein Kiel were playing Mainz 05 II in 3. Liga at 14.00 on Saturday afternoon. It is around 150 km from Haderslev to Kiel and the drive took me 90 minutes. Holstein-Stadion in Kiel doesn´t have any car park but being quite early, I arrived at 11.30, I could find a parking space at Westring. The ground was then only a few hundred metres away. Holstein Kiel has only played three seasons in 3. Liga, 2009/10 and 2013-15. Last season the club finished third but lost out to 1860 München in the promotion play-off. Holstein-Stadion, the home of Holstein Kiel, has been gradually rebuilt over the years. The official capacity is nowadays 11 000, although I don´t understand how it is possible to have that many inside the ground. The ground used have running tracks and only one seated stand (Südtribüne). In 2006 the Westkurve was replaced by a 3 380 capacity new terrace. The Nordtribüne has 950 seats plus terraces with 1 200 places in each section next to it. Away fans have the pleasure of the standing in the Ostkurve. For 14 Euros I bought a Stehplatz for block J in the Nordtribüne. That meant I could switch stands during the game. Shortly after noon I met up with Kiel supporter Matthias and his wife Frauke. Matthias runs the Calcio-Culinaria website and hasn´t missed a Holstein Kiel match, home or away, for five years. After a drink (Alkoholfreies Bier) in the stadium pub I then entered the ground an hour before kick-off.

A match against a second team unfortunately means very few away supporters. I counted to 10 Mainz 05 fans. It was to be their day though. Holstein Kiel couldn´t defend against the quick and speedy Mainz forwards. It was 0-2 after 24 minutes and after a goalkeeping error it was 0-3 at half-time. Supside, the Holstein Kiel ultras, were in the Westtribüne and gave their team a good vocal support, not even at 0-3 they gave up. Holstein Kiel played better in the second half but no goals for them today. There was to be one more goal in this match though. In the 82nd minute Mainz II scored with a long-range shot, which nicely went over the goalkeeper and into the back of the net, 0-4. This goal was so nice even some of the Holstein Kiel ultras applauded the effort. 0-4 was the final score and as I met up with Matthias outside the ground I asked him if I had a banning order at Kiel from now on. He laughed and said I was welcome to join home at an away game. This was the first time I have been to football match in Germany by car. It was also my first game in Germany since November 2013. I will be back in two weeks time for three games in the DFB-Pokal though and hopefully at least one more trip to Germany this season. The traffic back to Haderslev was really heavy and at times I was at a standstill on the motorway. Shortly after 8pm I was finally back at my hotel.

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